What informs this West Coast haberdasher’s approach to personal style? We sat down with Buster to get a quick glimpse of his approach, the industry, & brands we should be keeping our eyes on.

W/W: How would you describe your personal style?

“Dressing like your great-grandpa doesn't cover it entirely. I find myself endlessly inspired by early 20th century American industry. I love old workwear and militaria… the history behind the clothes & why they were made the way they were.”

W/W: What era inspires your style & why do you think that is?

“I definitely seem to be keen on the 1940's. A lot from that era was made out of necessity. Wartime and Post-war. Purely utilitarian pieces, mixed with a lot of bigger silhouettes that the 30's had but without the bells and whistles. I think it's super interesting to see what half of the world burning was doing to clothing at the time.”

W/W: The recent trends seem to embrace a more utilitarian, back to basics approach to clothing and style. An embrace of smaller brands. Do you agree and do you think we have seen this peak or will that intentionality, both on the brand’s & the consumer side, continue?

“I do see this trend quite a bit now. Even a lot of the bigger box brands have been pulling back and refocusing on their branding and making products that are sturdier or in tune with heritage style. I think they know that a lot of people are tired of buying junk and are becoming a little more economically and environmentally conscious. It has created a pretty open market for people to start their own brand or jump on the ‘slow fashion’ bandwagon. I think the nice side effect of this is that people (especially the younger generation) are buying more vintage and secondhand…”

W/W: Who are some of your favorite small heritage brands? Who should we be keeping our eyes out for?

“Actually difficult to pick. If we are defining a brand like Warehouse & Co. as small because they aren't the size of something like J.Crew per say, then I'd go with them and The Real McCoy's. If we are talking small, like owned by one or two people, then Bielby's , TCB and The Rite Stuff…

Nuu is an amazing brand coming out of Japan that I haven't seen many people talking about, yet. They're making some great stuff with incredible design and materials.”